Splore Festival turns 25 and turns out a Feasty good time
Wednesday 4 October 2023, 8:43AM
By Kind&Co
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It’s solid silver for Splore as Aotearoa’s longest-running music and arts festival turns 25 in February 2024. To celebrate, Splore is laying on a feast of sound, vision, arts, and culture – and, of course, plenty of the best food and drink.
Every Splore has a theme and Splore 2024’s anniversary theme is “Feasty”, in every sense.
“If music be the food of love, play on,” wrote Shakespeare a while ago. And there’s plenty to feast on with this first of two music announcements.
Hip hop legends The Pharcyde are invited to the celebration, playing Splore’s unique beachside main stage, alongside South London’s tattooed neo-soul sensation Greentea Peng, and American indie darlings Wednesday.
Other overseas guests include Glastonbury favourites Mr. Bruce and the Beatles Dub Club (who run the Fab Four through the dub filter), while South London DJ and broadcaster, Lil C, brings the bashment. At opposite ends of the sonic spectrum, Sydney sax bombs, Party Dozen, bring the noise and India’s pre-eminent raga band, Maharaj Trio, returns to Splore.
From Aotearoa, Splore is delighted to be presenting the iconic Strawpeople’s festival debut. There’s also Che Fu + King Kapisi, Lady Shaka (Live), Melodownz, Estere, Yoko Zuna, Grecco Romank, the Harmonic Resonators and Samoan heavy metallers, Shepherds Reign.
The Aotearoa DJ ranks feature Boiler Room ruler Half Queen, Paige Julia, Flamingo Pier, Dylan C, K2K and the house sounds of Sanoi.
It all happens February 23-25 at Auckland’s Tāpapakanga Regional Park, a beautiful and historical coastal setting an hour from the central city.
As ever, there’s more than music. Ngāti Whanaunga and Ngāti Pāoa iwi will open the festival with a powhiri that welcomes international artists to their ancestral home – and reminds us all where we stand.
On Saturday night, the Naked Eye cabaret zone dishes up the usual cheeky snacks of burlesque comedy and circus performance to a costumed crowd – because coming to Splore means being part of the performance.
Sometimes it’s time to slow down and breathe, so Wendy’s Wellness will bring the knowledge and invites Splorers to experience the healing power of massage and reiki. There will also be the popular yoga sessions and, for the first time, a medicinal cannabis seminar.
If you want to feed your head, Russell Brown will talk politics, science, and culture with invited guests in the Saturday morning Listening Lounge.
And it’ll all be done right. Splore is well known for leading the way as a sustainable event. The festival minimises its environmental impact with its leave-no-trace policy and carbon-zero initiatives.